3/14
There was no practice over the Chinese New Year holiday, and either the weather or just feeling sick kept me from going until last Wednesday, so it’s been quite a break.
People are coming earlier again, so I’m usually not the only one there at 8:30. About ten students showed up this time, plus one other guy who is not a student.
After warming up with forms, I stood around and watched other people do tuishou for awhile. People seem less interested in practicing with me these days, which leads me to believe that they actually read this account and don’t want to see themselves cast in a negative light. Another possibility is that my new outlook on pushing doesn’t interest them. Or both. Or neither. It’s probably just that I don’t look very friendly most of the time.
The guy who is not a student did come over and offer to push with me. I’d noticed that he was a “wrestler” type when he was practicing with other students, so I pretty much knew what would happen. He moved quickly, pushing here and there for a little and then releasing, as if to say, “Look, if I wanted to I could push you over here, here, here, here, here, here…..and here.” And he was probably right. I simply yielded and yielded as best as I could, taking a step back if he overcame my efforts. After a short while he apparently figured that I wasn’t much of a challenge and stopped. I returned to the wall where we put all our stuff and resumed watching other people push.
“You know he’s not a student, right?” Teacher Xu told me later. Apparently he just comes over and tries us out now and then. Teacher Xu told us all later not to try correcting his pushing technique.
Eventually Teacher Xu dragged the eager little guy over to push with me. I didn’t try to push him, and just concentrated on being pliable. Occasionally he would make a sudden shove and push me over. Briefly I considered doing the same to him, but thought better of it. I’ll keep “losing ’til I get it.” Our class motto is “Song Rou Ka Suo” (鬆柔å¡éŽ–) or, roughly translated, “Relax Soft Block Lock.” Right now I’m working on the first two. I figure if I can get those down, then I’ll move on to the latter part.
